Insider Selling: Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) CFO Sells $173,164.80 in Stock

Key Points

• Abeona Therapeutics CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 24,880 shares on July 9 at an average price of $6.96, totaling $173,164.80. The filing says the sale was to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards.
• Vazzano has been active in selling shares recently, including additional sales on June 8 and June 9 worth about $55,771 and $209,399, respectively.
• ABEO shares rose 4.7% to $7.12 in the session, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 24,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $173,164.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 493,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,435,156.72. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Joseph Walter Vazzano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 9th, Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 39,067 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total value of $209,399.12.
• On Monday, June 8th, Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 10,271 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total transaction of $55,771.53.

Abeona Therapeutics Trading Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:ABEO traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,608,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,993. The company has a market cap of $405.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 5.70 and a current ratio of 5.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.75 and its 200-day moving average is $5.31. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has a one year low of $4.00 and a one year high of $7.54.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abeona Therapeutics Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Abeona Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Abeona Therapeutics by 49.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Rangeley Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 4.2% in the first quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 161,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 44,882 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Abeona Therapeutics by 142.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 172,460 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 101,307 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ABEO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Abeona Therapeutics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Abeona Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 target price on Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abeona Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Company Profile

Abeona Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of gene and cell therapies for severe, life‐threatening rare diseases and oncology indications. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Abeona leverages proprietary viral and non‐viral delivery platforms to correct or compensate for underlying genetic deficiencies. The company's research efforts target pediatric neurodegenerative disorders as well as debilitating dermatologic conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead clinical programs include separate AAV‐based gene therapies for CLN1 and CLN3 forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, alongside an ex vivo autologous cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

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